Rondeau Ric

Full of evening grosbeaks , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We have had an influx of evening grosbeaks today. We had two or three earlier in the week. They don't come into our area often however this seems to be one of the times. Taken through the dirty double pained wonderful wildlife window in poor light. All in all not to bad. coccothraustes vespertinus

Every morning my human scrapes the fur off his face. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. He's funny that way. I admit that this is plagiarism. I saw the wording on a bill board somewhere and couldn't resist using it.

Does not play well with others. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. days

The trees were leaking colour all over the road , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. It always seems to be such a waste that all that colour is used up in a few weeks. The aftermath is months of greys and browns.

On the beach , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. I took turtle researchers out on a quiet summers day. We were able to beach the boat so the could access the areas they were studying. It usually isn't this calm on the south beach at Rondeau so it was a treat for me to be able to leave the boat and watch the researchers. Normally I stay with the boat the entire time.

Hermit Thrush , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Another fall visitor to our little pond. We have had two at the same time and there are probably more in the area. Catharus guttatus

A pound and a half of butter butts , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. One of the nick names for yellow rumped warblers is butter butt because of the big yellow patch just above the tail. We have been swarmed by yellow rumps for the past week. At times they take over the pond and nothing else comes in.

Altamira Oriole , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. We saw these gorgeous birds when we were in Texas last winter. I am partially colour blind but I can still see the intensity of colour on this bird. Icterus gularis

Well, I guess we will find out. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Whether pigs can fly. I mistyped whether as wether. Turns out a wether is a castrated ram. Who knew?

Ring-necked duck , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. I've not seen the ring aroung the neck. It does have a ring around its bill. So, why isn't it the ringed bill duck? Aythya collaris Peaked head, dark back, pale spur on sides behind neck, gray on the sides

How it really looks out in the woods. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Never mind those nice photos you see in magazines or the illustrations in field guides. This is the typical view you gt of a warbler as it flits around in a bush. Usually the are at the tops of trees and even harder to see. Having a water feature in your yard will bring them down and hopefully you can get a better look. This is a fall plumage yellow rumped warbler. A yellow rumped warbler caught in the open. Whonder why they call it a yellow rumped warbler?

A fall visitor , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. A male black throated blue warbler(dendroica caerulescens for those of you so inclined) spent an hour feeding in the hedge above and behind the pond. He eventually came down for a drink and a bath.

White eyed vireo , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. This is one bird name that actually makes sense. It has a white eye. Bird names are not always descriptive such as the red bellied woodpecker. It has red on its head but at best just a pinkish blush on the belly. Even then the pinky colour can only be seen in certain light or if you have the bird in the hand. Way back when birds were being named there were no binoculars. They shot the bird then examined it for specific field marks. The red headed name was already used so it became the red bellied. So, be thankful when a descriptive bird name actually makes sense. Have a good weekend.

The creature from the Green Lagoon , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. The environmentally versoin of the Creature from The Black Lagoon. He is covered in duck weed a common water plant in this area.

Immature chestnut sided warbler , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Since putting in a small water feature a year ago we have had over 100 species of bird come in to bath and drink. I can sit about 20 feet away and most of the birds don't mind. This chestnut sided was looking for bugs in the water lettuce we put in the pond.

Science is a lazy man's friend , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Seen on a very dirty SUV. Works for me.

It's not just pigeons anymore. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Seems if you are a concrete figurine of any shape or size you are fair game. Usually I see pigeons doing most of the work, however, this immature rose breasted gross beak was doing his bit for the cause.

Perhaps it is used for doges to get their P mail. , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. First spotted a sign like this about 5 years ago. This is located in a campground. If it isn't a fire fighting hydrant maybe they put it out there for visiting dogs.

The new, improved lily pad! , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Why bother with those old vegetation based pads? They take forever to grow, wither away in the fall and flip over in the wind. The all new styropad last forever, is available for use year round and being bright white is easy to find even at dusk. Best of all they are free and are delivered by litters every where. Get yours now!! Perhaps if this policy was in effect we would have fewer polluters and litter bugs. Probably not, there would be bodies everywhere.

One eye open , a photo by ricmcarthur on Flickr. Even when sleeping Crash seems to keep one eye open for Oz. Crash is at least twice the weight and size of Oz but speed trumps size, at least around here.